Oversight Committee Held Two Key Hearings on Climate Change on April 9, 2019, both presented here.
Afternoon Congressional Hearing hosted by House Committee on Oversight And Reform, Subcommittee on Environment: Climate Change, The History of a Consensus and the Causes of Inaction — the first of a series of hearings on the history of climate change and the reasons for inaction. Jeff Sachs’s opening testimony is brief and of excellent quality.
The Washington Post, October 7, 2018 :
Current promises made by countries as part of the Paris climate agreement would lead to about 3 degrees Celsius (5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming by the end of the century, and the Trump administration recently released an analysis assuming about 4 degrees Celsius (7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2100 if the world takes no action.
In a statement, a U.S. State Department official expressed appreciation for all the work that went into the report but noted that “governments do not formally endorse specific findings presented by the authors.”
The IPCC is considered the definitive source on the state of climate science, but it also tends to be conservative in its conclusions. That’s because it is driven by a consensus-finding process, and its results are the product of not only science, but negotiation with governments over its precise language.
The primary conclusion of the FOURTH NATIONAL CLIMATE ASSESSMENT is that climate change is no longer a distant issue: it is here and now. Every sector, every region. Read more: http://nca2018.globalchange.gov
Chapters are centered around Key Messages, which are based on the authors’ expert judgment of the synthesis of the assessed literature. With a view to presenting technical information in a manner more accessible to a broad audience, this report aims to present findings in the context of risks to natural and/or human systems. Assessing the risks to the Nation posed by climate change and the measures that can be taken to minimize those risks helps users weigh the consequences of complex decisions.
Since risk can most meaningfully be defined in relation to objectives or societal values, Key Messages in each chapter of this report aim to provide answers to specific questions about what is at risk in a particular region or sector and in what way. The text supporting each Key Message provides evidence, discusses implications, identifies intersections between systems or cascading hazards, and points out paths to greater resilience. Where a Key Message focuses on managing risk, authors considered the following questions:
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What do we value? What is at risk?
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What outcomes do we wish to avoid with respect to these valued things?
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What do we expect to happen in the absence of adaptive action and/or mitigation?
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How bad could things plausibly get? Are there important thresholds or tipping points in the unique context of a given region, sector, and so on?
These considerations are encapsulated in one question — — What keeps you up at night?
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Earlier that morning, before the hearing in the above video, there was a Full Committee hearing of witnesses Sec.State John Kerry and Sec.Def. Chuck Hagel on The Need for Leadership to Combat Climate Change and Protect National Security (discussing national security implications of c-c):
To summarize both hearings:
TAKEAWAYS
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Secretary John Kerry and Secretary Chuck Hagel testified that they led a March 5, 2019 letter to Trump with nearly 60 top national security leaders, who have served under both Democratic and Republican administrations, stating that climate change is an urgent and growing threat to our country.
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They warned that a recent White House proposal to create a panel to question the science of climate change would be step in the wrong direction. Instead, they urged the President to show real leadership on addressing the threat of climate change.
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Secretary Hagel testified that climate change is a “threat multiplier” that heightens the risk of armed conflicts, natural disasters, and public health crises.
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Both witnesses testified that green energy has enormous economic potential for the United States. However, if the federal government fails to encourage American innovation in green technologies, we will lose our economic edge over China and other countries.
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Chairman Cummings made a referral to Subcommittee Chairman Harley Rouda to conduct a “deep dive” on issues surrounding climate change and report back to the full committee.
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Rep. Katie Hill (D-CA) explained that the next generation is already feeling the effects of inaction on climate change from the 1980s.
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Dr. Tim Wirth and Senator Michael Oppenheimer testified that the decades of inaction on climate change is influenced by the fossil fuel industry. Dr. Jeffrey Sachs testified that influences by the fossil fuel industry are still continuing to this day and have caused current inaction on climate change.
WITNESSES
FULL COMMITTEE — Morning hearing:
The Honorable John Kerry Former Secretary of State Former United States Senator distinguished fellow for global affairs at Yale University
The Honorable Chuck Hagel Former Secretary of Defense Former United States Senator, Senate Foreign Relations; Banking,Housing and Urban Affairs; and Intelligence Committees
SUBCOMMITTEE — Afternoon hearing:
The Honorable Tim Wirth Former Senator from Colorado
Vice Chairman and President Emeritus of the United Nations Foundation
Michael Oppenheimer, Ph.D. Albert G. Milbank Professor of Geosciences and International Affairs,
Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University
Jeffrey Sachs, Ph.D. University Professor and Director, Center for Sustainable Development, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
Nicolas Loris speaking for himself, not speaking for The Heritage Foundation, where he works as Deputy Director of the Thomas A. Roe Institute of Economic Policy Studies and as Herbert and Joyce Morgan Fellow in Energy and Environmental Policy in The Heritage Foundation
Best Clip VIDEOS:
Watch Chairman Cummings’s opening statement.
Watch Subcommittee Chairman Rouda’s opening statement.
Watch Secretary John Kerry highlight the need for White House leadership referencing how, in April 2007, CNA (naval think-tank) released the MAB's landmark “gold-standard” report, National Security and the Threat of Climate Change, that articulates the concept of climate change acting as a “threat multiplier” for instability in some of the most volatile regions of the world and identifies key challenges that must be planned for now if they are to be met effectively in the future. Kerry testifies to the validity of the work done nowadays by American Security Project (ASP) leading nonpartisan organization created to educate the U.S. public and the world about the changing nature of national security in the 21st Century, studying how climate change threatens national security. ASP research has shown how U.S.’s military, and militaries around the world are taking the threat seriously, most recently in the January, 2019 Report on Effects of a Changing Climate to the Department of Defense. Hagel & Kerry are ASP founding Board members (2007—present).
Watch Rep. Tlaib’s questions line.
Watch Rep. Khanna’s questions line.
Watch Rep. Hill’s questions line.